


Meet Me on the River (Otabek and Yuri)

by A_WhitneyWhite



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, F/F, Jazz - Freeform, M/M, Multi Author, Piano, Swing Dancing, Trumpet, WW1, cake mom's collaboration challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 09:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11205435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_WhitneyWhite/pseuds/A_WhitneyWhite
Summary: 1 of 3After the great war has ended Otabek Altin is traveling up the Mississippi to deliver the final wish of a fallen ally. Along the way he quickly becomes close with the boat's trumpet player Yuri Plisetsky and allowing him to consider what comes after this.To Ramsey's Chapter-(Insert Link here)





	Meet Me on the River (Otabek and Yuri)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thank you so much for checking this out. I hope you like it. Don't forget to check out the other two works in this series.

Louisiana was bright and loud, New Orleans most of all. The humidity hung in the air making every inhale like a gulp of water, yet the heat still left one parched. People were everywhere; walking along the river and streets, playing instruments on the corner, even dancing. It was in a way horrifying to the Kazakhs man, all the layers of clothing that were normal and then vest, jackets, and ties would be killer even in more mild temperatures. He shakes his head as he stands in line, suitcase in tow, to board the big river boat that would be taking him north to Memphis. It was a nine day trip on the water. It was meant to be fun and relaxing. His eyes swept over the ticket and identification in his one hand, his name: Altin, Otabek was clearly printed on both. There were faster ways to travel, but he needed the time. He needed to get his head on straight so he could face something much more terrifying than war.  
Otabek was walking down the corridor pressed to one side as others made their way the opposite direction. There weren't many people, and most had already settled or were still getting checked in. He heard the pounding of feet before he saw the blond boy bolting towards him, he had a case in his hand not like luggage though. As they passed the former soldier felt the yank on his luggage. Their cases were stuck and the jostling knocked papers from his carry-on. The boy looked furious, his fern eyes narrow as he jerked his bag and growled with frustration. "Damn it!" He snapped that poisonous glare up. He was pretty, even with his face all scrunched up. Fair golden hair was partially pulled back allowing bangs to fall forward. There was a distinct set to his clothing, like a uniform, pale gray blue waistcoat on a strict with button down. There had already been others in similar suits carrying cases of similar make but varying sizes. He must work on the boat. He also had his lips pressed together, the corners of his eyes softened just a hint taking in the Kazakh man. Then it was gone. He huffed twisted his case and jerked it loose before hurrying off again. So Otabek smiled, a small quirk of the lips before gathering up the papers and continuing on to his bunk for the rest of the trip.  
The first night party was one of the two biggest affairs that would happen on this voyage. Taking that into account the man spent a bit longer in front of the mirror studying his dark undercut hair, serious narrowed eyes, and tanned skin. He knew he wasn't tall, and his comfortable shoes didn't make much of a difference. He hated the stiff black waist coat, but the dark green button down wasn't too bad, if he didn't choke himself with the top buttons. With a final glance at the papers and suitcase on his bunk he left.  
The actual party was very grand, the table of drinks and a band playing on an elevated stage. People were dancing and enjoying themselves. Otabek did not fail to notice the young man from before was on stage. They locked gazes for a moment before he went on to ignore Otabek and focus entirely on playing the brass trumpet. It was fine, he didn't need to speak to gain his attention. Moving along the back wall he saw what seemed like a very pitiful image, a young woman with long dark hair and bright eyes stared at the dancing couples with plain longing. She had even dressed for it, the flapper dress and kitten heels if made her intentions very clear. The man standing protectively next to her did not seem inclined to dance nor to let her out of his sight. Otabek walked right up to them and offered a hand to her. "Care to dance?" She threw a smirk at her companion, they looked alike so they were probably siblings, and took Otabek's offer. "I would love to!" They stepped up to the dancefloor, he quickly unbuttoned his waistcoat and tossed it as she added "I'm Sara by the way." The song previous had ended and a new one began so they slipped into the other couples and got ready. "Nice to meet you, I'm Otabek." There wasn't much room for chatter after that though, the band had picked up their tempo and between the swing dancing and containing to catch the trumpet player's eye he couldn't even think of what would be good to say. He was also aware of the angry glare burning into them from the brother. In the end the two of them made it two songs before being approached by a young woman with bright red hair. Otabek didn't mind when she asked to cut in. He smiled taking a step back, "You ladies go ahead, I need to get some air anyways." before weaving his way to the doors on onto the deck.  
He wasn't sure how long he leaned against the railing gazing at the stars and the water. The lights of the city and boat reflected off the river's waves in flashes of gold. Otabek's eyes traced the familiar dots in the sky finding patterns that made images and pointed in different directions like a dark map. One of the brighter ones made the ache in his chest throb like a raw wound that kept being poked at. Before he could delve too deep someone leaned back against the railing next to him.  
The pale blond caught the light giving Otabek the only indication he needed to know who it was. "You play really well." He spoke without looking over, the trumpet player seemed to have the same idea. "I do, but not good enough. You're some kind of dancer?" Otabek chuckled with a slight shake of his head, "No, just a run of the mill soldier." "You don't look old enough to be in the army, but thanks for your service." There was so much doubt and sarcasm there that you didn't need to see the eye roll. Otabek agreed none the less, "Yeah, actually I am. I enlisted back when I fourteen, they didn't really care about lying about your age. How long have you been playing?" He felt the green irises slide over his face taking note of how he directed the conversation away from himself. "For as long as I can remember. My Gramps use to play back when we lived in Chicago, he taught me so much while he could." The musician sighed long and sadly. "Did something happen?" Otabek tried to ask casually, give him an out if he didn't want to answer. It seemed like his nameless companion was in a sharing mood, or felt it was common enough knowledge that he didn't care. "There was the whole thing about musician strikes and no one was supposed to play in clubs, but Gramps had me to take care of and had to keep working. So one night coming home after a gig he was attacked, they broke his hands so he couldn't play anymore." His voice was shaking in anger, from the corner of his eye Otabek could see the white knuckle grip on the railing. It was painful, even now a wound that hadn't been able to scab over. That he was understandable. "It's difficult to go against the world like that, he must have really loved you even knowing the circumstances." There was a huff and the rolling of shoulders, "Yeah, he's the best. He just wasn't the same after." Another long sigh, "He was great he still is, smiling and laughing always ready to speak of good fortune. He was the one who wanted to go exploring and find the hidden gems of America. He lived in Russia his entire live, when we finally came here it was like a haven. I was too young to remember what it was like before, but he seemed happy. Gramps would cook and teach me how to play songs. I remember one day he pulled me out of school because he found out the zoo had a lion. We spent the whole day lost wandering around looking for it." He laughed with the nostalgia, "He likes to say crap like 'Yura, the world has dealt us a winning hand, be thankful for it; take advantage of it.' and stuff like that." He portrayed his grandfather's voice with a very thick accent. "He's pretty optimistic." Otabek commented with his own small smile. The musician nodded a bit lost in his own memories, "He is, even if he comes off a bit intimidating to strangers as soon as you actually get him talking it hard not to love him."  
It must have finally accrued to 'Yura' that he was confessing a lot to a stranger. Otabek felt the tension seep back into the air around them. Now he chose to turn and offer a hand, "I'm Otabek Altin." with as much casualness as if he hadn't heard all of that. 'Yura' raised an eyebrow, but Otabek could see the faint color on his cheeks from embarrassment. "Yuri Plisetsky, but the pianist is also Yuri so everyone calls me Yuri-o." They shook hands then went back to leaning on the railing. "Since I met you first shouldn't you be Yuri?" Otabek inquired raising an eyebrow. Yuri laughed and shrugged, "That would be cool with me." They enjoyed another moment of relaxed silence before being interrupted. A cheerful Thai looking young man was setting up his camera pointing the lenses at them. "Would you like a photograph? I guarantee you'll get it by the end of the trip!" He didn't wait for a real answer before he was posing them the way he thought was nice and telling them to hold still. He was back behind the camera in a flash and clicking to take the picture. There was a bright flash and a pause where everyone held as still as they could before the young man was packing away his equipment and rushing off again. "I'll make sure to get it to you two cats later!" The two broke apart when Yuri cleared his throat and said he was needed on stage again. Otabek didn't go back to the party that night, but he did listen picking out the clear sounds of the trumpet and watching the stars shine in the sky and on their reflections dance on the waves.  
That night laying on his bunk Otabek, not for the first time, found he was unable to sleep. Sometimes when he closed his eyes he would see his best friend talking about how wonderful his wife was and how beautiful their daughter was. Sometimes he saw the blond boy Yuri, that small nostalgic smile on his face and a few wild strands of hair sticking out. Mostly he saw flashes of the past, dark and bloody with echoes of the sounds of the dying. Each had their own pain, but of them he wished the most for the flashes of his friend to stop. Seeing the cheerful grin of a man with everything to lose was so much worse knowing his fate, being there for such a gruesome death. Otabek didn't sleep that night, no matter how hard he tried to clear his mind.  
He was use to the grogginess of the next day. It was blissfully calm so he spent most of it wandering the deck. At some point Yuri joined him, at least for a while to talk and hang out. It was a nice day and that night Otabek was able to sleep at least some before his nightmares surfaced once again.  
It was raining that day. Not hard, just a light shower. Still it was enough to keep most under the shelter of the overhang and inside. Everyone crowding was making Yuri antsy. He stuck to Otabek's side even when one of the other band members approached letting him know they were going to be performing later, finally after wandering around for awhile they ended up in a hallway. Yuri grabbed his hand and pulled him into the slightly ajar broom closet. Then they were on each other all teeth and tonged. Otabek had him pressed against the shelves in the dark. Yuri kept a tight grip in the other's dark hair trying to pull him closer still. Otabek growled before forcing himself back just enough to speak. "We have to stop." He panted even as Yuri shifted against him knocking a few cleaning supplies to the floor. With a yank on Otabek's hair Yuri tried to pull him back in. "No we don't." Otabek broke them apart again. "We do, they're already expecting you for the show." Yuri's face turned sour and Otabek quickly kissed him once more. "Just wait until after kitten." So they did, though they barely broke eye contact while Yuri was on stage.  
The next two days were a blur of sunny skies, dark closets, and green eyes. It was on the sixth day on the boat some more focus came into their time together. As they leaned on the railing in what had become their normal spot watching the stars Yuri asked what Otabek had been avoiding telling him. "Why are you headed to Memphis? I don't think you ever mentioned it." Today Yuri hadn't bothered pulling his hair back, instead it hung half in his face and almost long enough to brush his shoulders. He wouldn't lie, there was no need, he just didn't know how to talk about it. "It's a bit of a long story." He started with a sigh. Yuri was so close to him, their arms would lightly brush against each other when one shifted. "Beka," Yuri started to say something, but must have thought better of it and fell silent once more.  
So he started again. "I think I said before that I was a soldier. Well to enlist I lied about my age, I was fourteen and wanted to become so sort of war hero or something. I don't even remember. They might have known I was lying, if they did they didn't say anything. Training went by to fast and I ended up paired with one of the older guys after. In his mid twenties, he had a wife and little girl waiting at home for him, his name was Charlie Adler. He carried a photograph of his family in his breast pocket by his heart, a box of letters in his pack, and could make friends with a dead fish. We were out in the trenches. It was bad, really bad. Of course it had to be one of those stupid turns of luck that could have been avoided had we not been pinned down the way we were. His rifle slipped and went off when he jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit he was peppered. After he hit the ground he made me promise to get the letters and photos back to his family. He pointed up to those stars as if they were going to carry his words all the way to Memphis, 'Sorry I'm not going to be there Judy.' and just like that he was gone. So I got the photos and the letter and have been carrying them around for almost three years. I'm headed to Memphis to try and explain to a wife that she is a widow now and a toddler that her dad isn't coming home."  
Yuri didn't say anything for a long moment, but then "What about after?" Otabek couldn't see his face the way he had his head tilted made his hair fall forward like a curtain. "You're not going back to that are you?" Otabek shook his head, "No, the war is over there's no reason for me to go back. I just don't know what I'm going to do after. I hadn't even thought about it yet." Yuri nodded and leaned over onto Otabek's shoulder. "You should. It would give you something to look forward to."  
The seventh day Yuri did everything he could to keep Otabek distracted. Still at the end of the day they stargazed on the railing and Otabek was no closer to understanding what he wanted to do with his life after this trip was over.  
The last full day on the boat started off fine, there was going to be the final night party and then tomorrow they would dock in Memphis. Otabek didn't know where the boat went after that, maybe it kept on going north maybe they turned around and went back to New Orleans he hadn't thought to check before, hadn't felt it was important but now he wished he had.  
It was afternoon, he and Yuri had been wandering around casually chatting, then the conversation took a turn. Yuri mentioned Otabek coming back onto the boat after going to see Mrs. Adler. Otabek stumbled not knowing a good response, he hadn't even realized coming back was an option. His face must have read badly, Yuri snapped in embarrassment "What is it really that horrible of an idea?" Again Otabek was unable to respond and Yuri took it the wrong way. "Right, you probably have someone waiting for you." He took a step away and Otabek stopped thinking. He reached out and grabbed Yuri's hand. "Yura, slow down. There isn't anyone waiting for me. Let me get my head around what you're saying first." Yuri still looked like he wanted to spit venom but nodded and didn't pull away. They didn't speak much more until Yuri had to run off to get ready for that night.  
By the time Otabek got there the party was in full swing. He considered just skipping the whole event, but didn't want to miss out on seeing Yuri perform one last time. So he stood next to the doorway watching and listening he saw how Yuri moved with the beat, not enough to disrupt the sound but enough to be considered a dance. Otabek smiled watching until they stopped. After their final song most of the band stepped away and the lights dimmed until only the piano remained in focus. The first person sat at the bench with dark hair. The lighting showed him sitting in his own world creating it with strokes of keys. The tiny hammers hit the cords bringing everyone in. Someone was now next to Otabek, they didn't speak, just watched the pianist play letting themselves fall into the world. After a moment someone else joined the first. His hair, young and silver, caught the lights as he seated. He added another element to the world the first one had built. Otabek had heard a lot of music, he wouldn't call himself an expert but he knew enough to recognize what was before him. As they finished the room filled with applause including Yuri standing next to him.  
He had only seen a glimpse of Yuri the morning they docked in Memphis. He dragged his luggage off with him just to be stopped by the young Thai man that he had met for that brief moment on the ship. He had seen him flying around with his camera taking photographs of others. The man handed him a couple Photographs with a big grin, then ran off to find whoever else he took photographs of. Otabek didn't have time to look at them, the crowd was surging forward pushing him off. He hurriedly stuck the photographs into his bag.  
On days like this it should be raining. Instead the sun shone happy yellow unclouded and bright. Otabek walked from the dock to the suburbs. The river side became white picket fences and boats made way to family homes the further away he got. Eventually he made it, the mail box painted bright colors and proudly displaying the address. A lump formed in Otabek's throat as he got closer to the little fence gate. A smaller house with a little table was set up in the front yard, a little girl was in the middle of having a very serious conversation with a teddy bear. When she looked over to where Otabek stood after clearing his throat she smiled, and looked just like her dad. "Hiya mister! I'll go get Momma." She ran off inside and he pulled out the little box of letters and photographs. Charlie should have been here, coming home, but he wasn't. So Otabek straightened his shoulders as Miss. Adler came out, a warm smile turned to a blank face, then tears as she dropped to her knees and cried. He didn't even have to say anything, she knew.  
He ended up not saying much after handing the little box to the woman as she hugged her daughter close. She thanked him for bringing Charlie home before he left. As he walked out the gate leaving them his eyes caught the corner of his still open bag. He pulled out what the Thai man had given him. It was Otabek and Yuri leaning on the railing smiling. As the photos went on the smiled looked more forced and Yuri looked more annoyed, but Otabek liked them all the same. It was more real. He tucked them away in him bag once more, closed it, and hurried off.  
He made it just in time, stepping onto the boat just before the left the dock. He wormed his way through the people and found Yuri, blond hair pulled back and playing. He didn't wait. He walked right up to the trumpet player and tugged him from the stage. Meeting eyes Yuri stopped before he began yelling and gaped. "Beka?" But Otabek didn't let him say anymore. He pressed their lips together feeling Yuri's arms wrap around his neck and his mouth respond. When they parted, both out of breath Otabek spoke. "I'm not ready to sit back and wait for something that may never happen again, will you let me stay close to you?" Yuri's hand was fisted in his hair keeping him from going very far. "If you stay it had better be real. Can you promise that?" Otabek rested his forehead against Yuri's a small smile on his lips. "Yes, I promise."


End file.
